Kentucky Derby contender Mendelssohn builds buzz in first workout

Mendelssohn hits the track at Churchill Downs Thursday morning for the first time, two days before the 2018 Kentucky Derby.
Matt Stone, Louisville Courier Journal

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Mendelssohn took to the track at Churchill Downs for the first time since shipping here from Ireland. The horse will be a one of the betting favorites for the Kentucky Derby. May 3, 2018(Photo: By Pat McDonogh / CJ)Buy Photo

Kentucky Derby contender Mendelssohn created a buzz Thursday morning with his first appearance on the track at Churchill Downs, making a noisy exit after a 20-minute gallop.

As the Kentucky Oaks and Derby training began around 7:30 a.m., spectators anticipated the arrival of Mendelssohn, some murmuring that he would be their pick to win Saturday. He was the only horse in the field of 20 who had not run the track yet.

He galloped with a handful of his stablemates from trainer Aidan O’Brien’s barn, and as he walked off the track, he began to holler and squirm. Pat Keating, the horse’s head traveling lad, escorted him to his isolation barn.

Mendelssohn’s connections said O’Brien will not arrive until Friday. Fred Mitchell, of breeder Clarkland Farms, said the team was happy with the horse’s first workout on the track.

“It looked like he just skipped over it this morning,” Mitchell said. “Very easy on him.”

So the horse remains somewhat enigmatic. He shipped to Churchill Downs from Ireland on Monday night and arrived late because the plane was rerouted to Indianapolis. Rumor around the barn Thursday was that one of the grooms on the flight did not have their paperwork in order.

Mendelssohn sat in quarantine, as is custom for international horses, for the next two days. No horse from outside North America has won the Kentucky Derby since Bold Forbes in 1976.

But Mendelssohn has generated some attention after a lopsided win in the UAE Derby. He’s 5-1 on the morning line this week, behind only Justify.

“Mendelssohn is an extremely talented, well-bred horse,” said Bob Baffert, Justify’s trainer. “He’s Justify’s little brother. He’s trained by probably the best trainer in the world (O’Brien). I don’t think he ships just to come for the Kentucky Fried Chicken.”

Mendelssohn began his career in Ireland at the Curragh Racecourse, before he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf race at Del Mar last November. He won the UAE Derby by 18 ½ lengths.

“(Mendelssohn’s) trained by probably the best trainer in the world. I don’t think he ships just to come for the Kentucky Fried Chicken.”

Bob Baffert, on Aidan O’Brien

Baffert will also saddle Rayya, the runner-up in that race, in the Oaks. He was not the filly’s trainer when she ran second against the male horses in the UAE Derby, but he began working with her when she shipped to the U.S.

“When I got her to California and worked her, I thought, wow,” Baffert said. “So if Rayya wins the Oaks, I think we might be all in trouble.”